sales by all the big car companies rose dramatically, including toyota. chris bury tells us there's a clear explanation why. >> reporter: for all its recent troubles, the massive recall, the public relations fiascos the embarrassment of having executives hauled before congress, toyota enjoyed sizzling sales last month, up 41% over last year. the big reason? generous incentives that lured bacchus hers. >> it's clear there are a lot of loil toyota customers out there that were ready and willing to take advantage of the incentives. >> reporter: toyota fought its image battles with an aggressive advertising campaign. >> we want to believe we can always be better. >> reporter: but the biggest incentives in toyota history, nearly $2300 per vehicle, helped turn around two straight months of declining sales. and american car makers were on a shot streak, too. >> the finance rates are wonderful, and people are realizing that ford is the car. >> reporter: at ford, sales were nearly up 40%, gm, 22%. chrysler, still struggling, posted an 8% decline. american automake